Danger at the Border by Terri Reed Page B

lip curled. “Which is ironic, since spetsii is Russian for spice. ”
    The front door of the greenhouse banged open. Aaron stomped in. The thundercloud rolling across his face sent unease sliding down Jeff’s spine. Though Sherman was a crook for growing illegal marijuana on government land, he didn’t strike Jeff as a cold-blooded killer. Aaron, on the other hand...
    “I told you this was off-limits,” Aaron said as he stormed in along with a blast of cooler air. He’d replaced the rifle with a handgun that now was aimed in their direction. He pulled up short when he saw Sherman.
    “Aaron.” Sherman spun the chair. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Because of you, our operation has become vulnerable to discovery.”
    A mulish expression settled on Aaron’s broad face as he lowered the weapon. “You said I could grow what I wanted in here.”
    “I meant any species of cannabis, not make a designer drug that kills. Nothing grabs the law’s attention quicker than people dying,” Sherman shouted. “Emil, relieve Aaron of his weapon and have two guards escort him to his cabin and keep him there.”
    “Come on, you can’t do this,” Aaron sputtered.
    Emil nodded, took the weapon from Aaron and stepped outside.
    Aaron sent Jeff and Tessa a furious glare. “I should have killed you when I had the chance.”
    “Enough,” Sherman said, his voice low.
    Two guards entered. Each took a side and walked Aaron out the door.
    Sherman shook his head, remorse filling his eyes. “That boy will be the death of me yet. If his mother were alive she’d have boxed his ears for pulling a stunt like this.”
    “He’s your son?” Tessa asked quietly.
    With a sigh, Sherman rolled the chair to where he could face them. “Yes. He’s my son. He royally messed up. But we’ll make this right. I can’t undo the damage done to the lake, but I can guarantee there won’t be any more harmful chemicals flowing down the mountain.” He wiped a hand over his jaw. “I want to help people. People like me who are in constant pain.”
    “Then why didn’t you move your operation and become a legal grower when the law changed?” Tessa asked.
    “I have too much invested here. There are over ten thousand plants spread through the forest. Besides, I already told you, my family was on this land before the government came in and took it away.”
    “What about us?” Jeff asked. Now that they were no longer needed to find the source of the toxin, their chances of getting out of the forest alive were plummeting fast.
    With a regretful twist of his lips, Sherman said, “I’m sorry to say that I can’t let you leave. You’re a liability.”
    Jeff’s mind scrambled for a way to get Tessa out of this situation. He said the only thing that came to mind that he thought Sherman would be interested in. “What if you had a Border Patrol agent in your back pocket?”
    Beside him, Tessa gasped.
    He couldn’t afford to glance her way to reassure her that he wouldn’t betray his oath to his country. Border agents were guardians of the United States of America’s borders. Jeff took that very seriously.
    He was a part of the frontline of this nation’s defense, protecting the public from terrorists and instruments of terror, both foreign and domestic.
    And though what Sherman was doing may not seem like an act of terror, he was hurting the people Jeff swore to protect with vigilance, integrity and professionalism. He would do whatever it took to fulfill his vows.
    But there was no way for Tessa to know that he was bluffing. She didn’t know him or trust him enough. Regardless, he had to sell this story to Sherman if he was going to make sure she left this place alive and in one piece.
    * * *
    Tessa stared at Jeff with a mix of horror and confusion. He couldn’t be serious. Jeff wouldn’t throw out his principles to work for Sherman’s illegal organization. This had to be some sort of ploy.
    Yes, she decided. Jeff was trying to gain